INDUSTRY WATCH // CATALYZE
BEYOND THE REACTOR
How Oklo is turning nuclear breakthroughs into scalable solutions.
Written by Conner Allen
Sponsored by
Photo: Oklo
POWER DEMAND IS RISING, with the load in the United States expected to increase by 25 percent by 2030. Utility companies, grid operators, and local governments are evaluating advanced nuclear technologies to meet the growing need for electricity. But the defining test for advanced nuclear is no longer proof of concept—it is whether developers can fuel, license, manufacture, and replicate plants on credible schedules.
That challenge is central to how nuclear power company Oklo, Inc. approaches commercialization.
“While innovation in reactor design absolutely matters, it is not what will move advanced nuclear forward,” said Caroline DeWitte, co-founder and chief operating officer at Oklo, an advanced nuclear technology company. “The real barrier is the business case: creating a viable path to market through financing, plant construction, and a product customers want to buy.”
Oklo’s Aurora powerhouse reflects that technical foundation, using a sodium-cooled fast reactor design to produce clean energy.
“Aurora combines verified technology with inherent, passive safety—it can shut itself down naturally without damage—while also reusing nuclear waste as fuel, extracting far more energy from existing material rather than relying on newly mined and enriched resources,” DeWitte said.
Photo: Getty Images
Caroline DeWitte, co-founder and chief operating officer at Oklo.
A major constraint in the nuclear industry is delivery: making clean, affordable power reliable, commercial, and accessible. Oklo’s full-service model is built around customer needs, with the company owning and operating plants, managing fuel and recycling, and overseeing the lifecycle from design through long-term operation.
As a Foundational Sponsor of ASME’s CATALYZE initiative, Oklo is also helping connect the stakeholders needed to move advanced energy systems into broader use.
“We pair a proven, safe technology with a model where we own and operate the plants, so customers receive clean energy that is delivered in a way that fits how they actually use power,” she said.
Designing for Deployment
A market-driven approach helped Oklo avoid stalling in the regulatory stage and establish a clearer path to commercializing the Aurora powerhouse. But that model only works if the technology can be deployed in ways that reflect both regulatory realities and market demand.
To test market response and begin generating capital, Oklo first built small reactors around 1 to 1.5 megawatts electric (MWe), comparable to university research reactors.
“Starting small was an intentional first step,” DeWitte explained. “It made the technology more approachable from a regulatory standpoint and allowed us to pursue a design that was financeable for a venture-backed company early on.”
Customer engagement showed that smaller systems alone would not create enough impact. As access to capital grew, Oklo scaled its ambitions to match demand, increasing output to 75 MWe because it aligned three factors: customer need, financing viability, and technical capability.
From a deployment perspective, “75 MWe represents a ‘sweet spot.’ It’s large enough to meet meaningful customer demand and support industrial-scale applications, but still small enough to be modular,” DeWitte said.
That flexibility matters because customers often adopt power incrementally and on demand, rather than through massive upfront infrastructure investments.
“From the beginning, the focus has been on designing beyond the first plant and planning the systems needed to deploy a fleet,” she added.
Photo: Getty Images
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From Paper to Power
That market orientation positioned Oklo to capitalize on recent policy actions that enable the U.S. Department of Energy to support early construction efforts and work more closely with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
“We’re seeing a shift from a regulatory standstill to actually building and learning in real time,” DeWitte said. “For a long time, the industry could develop strong designs and data—but until construction started, it was nearly impossible to understand the challenges of procurement, construction, and operating at scale.”
The shift marks a turning point for nuclear from a regulation-centered model to one focused on building, deploying, and operating next-generation systems. Progress is no longer measured by designs alone, but by the ability to finance them, build them, and deliver power that can support industries and communities at scale.
For Oklo, that transition is already taking shape on the ground. DeWitte pointed to an isotope test reactor project that will become self-sustaining in July, alongside the start of construction on the first Aurora powerhouse at Idaho National Laboratory. Oklo also received its first NRC license for its Radioisotopes Laboratory in 2026. The license enables Oklo to handle, process, and distribute isotopes, making Oklo the first advanced nuclear company licensed by the NRC to sell isotopes.
Building Systems Behind Systems
Implementing sustainable technology at scale requires more than engineering talent. It also depends on construction teams, regulatory and permitting experts, and professionals across supply chains, manufacturing, business, and finance.
“Our relationship with our EPC—our engineering, procurement, and construction partner—has become incredibly important,” DeWitte said. “Our EPC is a core enabler of execution, turning designs into built infrastructure and supporting repeat deployments across the United States.”
Connecting with these players is essential to moving technology from theory to practice. ASME’s CATALYZE community and upcoming summit create that forum, convening leaders across sectors to address the challenges of meeting energy demand, transforming industry, and unleashing advanced manufacturing.
The technologies are ready. The next step is deploying them at scale, and building the partnerships needed to turn innovation into impact.
Conner Allen is a writing specialist at ASME.
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